Sunday, November 16, 2003

The ancient Cambodian passport gods have bestowed their blessings upon me and my lost passport -- complete with the crucial visa to get out of the country -- is back in my possession.

The story is a fine example of the power of the internet. The cleaner in a cafe I visited last weekend picked up the passport -- it must have fallen out of my back pocket while my rear end was exploding like a landmine.

She gave it to the western owner of the restaurant....who wasn't sure how to contact me to give it back. He put my name into Google, found the blog, matched the picture on the passport to the pictures on the site and BINGO!! -- he was able to e-mail me and let me know it was safe.

After he didn't hear from me for a couple of days (because I was up near the Thai border and out of internet contact) he took the passport to the British Embassy.

One call to the Ambo's Duty Officer later and the passport was waiting for me at the guardhouse of the Embassy.

The result -- I can spend next week sightseeing and heading off to Angkor Wat instead of waiting for hours at immigration offices trying to find a way out of the country.

A $10 reward has been despatched to the finder and a bottle of cognac is on its way to the owner of the cafe.

The MAG guys here say they know plenty of people who have lost their passports around Phnom Penh but they've never EVER been found again.